By Ewen Callaway

A Danish court on 18 February cleared a prominent scientist of research misconduct, overturning the judgement of the government agency in charge of investigating scientific fraud.

In a decision issued in 2013 and affirmed in 2014, the Danish Committees on Scientific Dishonesty (DCSD) ruled that Bente Klarlund Pedersen, a physiologist at the University of Copenhagen, had acted in “a grossly negligent manner” that constituted “scientific dishonesty”. The DCSD found that she had misrepresented experiments on biopsied muscle tissue and failed to detect manipulations of microscope images by a scientist she oversaw.

Klarlund Pedersen’s research looks into the effects of exercise on muscle physiology, and has identified factors that could speed muscle up recovery. She has also appeared frequently in the Danish press discussing the benefits of exercise.

In a unanimous decision, the High Court of Eastern Denmark cleared Klarlund Pedersen of the charges and ordered the DCSD…